“Original” Service Fluids

This is about how many carmakers (especially European ones) insist on, or strongly recommend, using original fluids during vehicle maintenance, which in reality are often ordered from well-known chemical manufacturers but packaged under the carmaker's own brand. On the packaging, as a rule, you won't find any information about the actual manufacturer, and often not about the technical specifications either — just the car brand and the part number from the catalogue. Some carmakers package even engine oil this way.

It's very important to understand a few things here. First, it's by no means certain that what the carmaker orders for further use at warranty service stations fully matches, in chemical composition and performance characteristics, the retail equivalent sold under the actual chemical manufacturer's own brand. The carmaker could well have added extra requirements tied to the design features of your specific car. On top of that, buying the “original” from your car brand's official representative substantially lowers the risk of getting a counterfeit.

At the same time, in most cases the service fluids of the brand that is the official supplier to your carmaker are suitable for use in that car. What's important here is to know for sure which brand that is (again, this information is far from always found on the carmaker's original packaging), as well as the specific parameters of the fluid that should be used in your particular car.

Remember that power-steering fluid, coolant, gear oils and other fluids all come in different types, and if you use even a very high-quality product, but not the one the designers specified for your particular car — an expensive repair to your car is guaranteed.